Snap fastener ornament cap assembly



July 23, 1957 B. M. WEBER 2,799,910

SNAP FASTENER ORNAMENT CAP ASSEMBLY Filed July 2, 1953 INVENTORI BONNIE M. WEBER, BYWf/lfiW A-r TOR N EY.

Unite States Patent SNAP FASTENER ORNAMENT CAP ASSEMBLY Bonnie M. Weber, Castro Valley, Calif.

Application July 2, 1953, Serial No. 365,710

2 Claims. (Cl. 24216) This invention relates generally to ornaments and has particular reference to an ornament adapted for assembly onto a shouldered stud.

Ornamental buttons and the like for use on sport shirts, blouses, and other garments are frequently formed of materials which are brittle and easily broken, such as fresh or salt water pearl, ceramics, or various mineral substances. These materials are formed into the desired ornamental shape and assembled with some sort of metallic retainer to enable them to be attached to the garment, usually by providing a portion to pierce the cloth and engage a member on the opposite side of the cloth.

Such ornaments have the disadvantage that they are frequently broken during assembly therein of the retaining means, causing a high percentage of defective parts in the manufacturing operation and are also frequently broken by laundering operations.

The object of the invention is to provide an ornamental button assembly consisting of parts so constructed as to be assembled without danger of breaking the ornamental portion of the assembly.

A further object of the invention is to provide an ornamental button assembly in which a rigid and brittle ornamental body is provided with a resilient and deformable non-metallic insert to receive a stud in snapping engagement.

Other objects of the invention will, in part, be obvious and will, in part, appear hereinafter.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is an exploded view of an assembly utilizing the ornament assembly of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the assembly of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view in section of the assembly of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view, partly broken away, of a modified form of button having the features of the invention.

Referring to the drawing, there is illustrated an ornamental button assembly 10, which is adapted for removable attachment to a shouldered stud 12 on a portion 14 of a garment.

The stud 12 may be secured to the garment 14 by a series of prongs 16, which are adapted to pierce the garment and engage in a peripheral recess 18 in a snap fastener socket 20 to enable the portion 14 of the garment to be secured to another portion 22 thereof having a snap fastener stud 24 mounted thereon.

The button assembly 10 comprises generally an ornamental body portion 26 having a cavity 28 on one side thereof and a resilient non-metallic stud-engaging insert 30 assembled into the cavity.

The body portion 26 may be formed of pearl, ceramics, of mineral substances which are relatively rigid and brittle, and the cavity 28 is provided with an enlarged rear portion 32 for a purpose to appear hereinafter.

The insert 30 is preferably formed of a resilient and 2,799,910 Patented July 23, 1957 elastic material such as synthetic plastics of the polyamide type, vinyl type, polyethylene, or cellulose acetate butyrate. The composition of the material is not critical provided it has the physical characteristics of resilience and elasticity for the purposes to appear hereinafter.

The insert 30 comprises a medial portion 34 having a central opening 36 having a diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the stud 12, and a series of arms 38 extending from the periphery of the medial portion.

The insert is assembled into the cavity 28 by flexing the arms 38 upwardly (see Fig. l) and forcing them into the cavity so that the medial portion 34 is disposed substantially at the entrance to the cavity and the arms 38 extend toward the rear of the recess and are inclined outwardly into the enlarged portion 32. The insert is thereby securely retained in the cavity by the resilience of the arms, which tend to resume their original flat position, and hence bear tightly against the walls of the cavity.

The ornamental assembly 10 may then be assembled onto the stud by forcing the stud into the central aperture 36, which enlarges by peripheral expansion of the center portion 34 to permit the stud to pass therethrough. In this assembly, substantially very little expansive forces are transmitted to the button body 26, by reason of the resilience of the insert and the fact that the insert is generally cup-shaped, so that the expansion of the center portion causes the portion of the insert in contact with the button body to move rearwardly in the cavity, rather than outwardly.

Referring to Fig. 4, there is illustrated a modified form of fastener 40 embodying the features of the invention.

The fastener 40 comprises an ornamental body portion 42, which is similar to the body portion 26 of the fastener 10, having a cavity 44 with an enlarged rear portion 46, and a resilient non-metallic stud-engaging insert 48 assembled into the cavity.

The insert 48 is preferably formed of materials similar to the insert 30 of the button 10, and comprises a bead portion 50 disposed about the cavity entrance on the exterior of the body, and a retaining portion 52 extending from the bead into the enlarged rear portion 46. The flexibility and defonnability of the material of the insert 48 permits it to receive a stud in snapping engagement without damage to the body portion 42.

The button assembly of the invention has the advantage that the insertion of the resilient insert does not cause cracking of the button body during assembly and has the additional advantage that it may be readily removed when the garment is to be laundered or when a button having another ornamental design is to be attached to the garment.

Since certain other obvious modifications may be made in the device without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained herein be interpreted in an illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. An ornamental assembly for attachment to a shouldered stud, comprising an ornament body formed of relatively rigid and brittle material having a cavity in one face thereof, said cavity having a continuous, outwardly inclined wall surface, a resilient plastic insert positioned in snap fastener engagement within said cavity, said insert comprising a centrally apertured plate positioned substantially at the cavity entrance, a plurality of arm portions extending from the periphery of said plate in inclined relationship with respect thereto into said cavity, said arm portions being in tensioned engagement with the continuous outwardly inclined wall surface of said cavity, whereby insertion of the shouldered stud causes radial expansion of the central portion of the insert without substantial expansion of the ornament body resulting.

'ing a peripheral recess having a continuous'inclined J surface, a resilient plastic insert positioned in snap fastener engagement within said cavity, said insert comprising a centrally apertured' plate positioned substantially atithe cavity entrance, a plurality of spaced arm portions eX-t tending from the periphery of said'plate in inclined rela- 1 tionship with respect thereto into said cavity, said. arm portions being in tensioned engagement with the continuous inclined wall surface of said enlarged rear portion of said cavity whereby insertion of the shouldered 'stud causes radial expansion of the central portion of the 15 insert without substantial expansion of the ornament body resulting.

References Cited in the file of this patent 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS 449,940 La Dow Apr. 7, 1891 665,901 Hampton Jan. 15, 1901 756,090 Yankie Mar. 29, 1904 0 1,634,936 Eddy July- 5, 1927 1,943,063 Fenton Jan. 9, 1934 2,548,004 Duefrene Apr. 10, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 621,404 Great Britain Apr. 8, 1949 

